As promised, the
Consumer Product Safety Commission today issued a warning to parents and caregivers who use slings for their infants. The
agency said, "be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age." It also urged parents of preemies, twins, babies in fragile health and those of low weights to use extra care and consult their pediatricians about using slings.
The warning came a few days after
Inez Tenenbaum, the CPSC's chair, spoke to an industry standard-setting group. "We know of too many deaths in these slings and we now know the hazard scenarios for very small babies," she said.
The CPSC is investigating at least 14 deaths over the past 20 years associated with sling-style infant carriers, including three in 2009. Twelve of the deaths involved babies younger than four months of age. Many of the babies who died in slings were either a low birth weight twin, were born prematurely, or had breathing issues such as a cold.
Slings can pose two different types of suffocation hazards to babies. In the first few months of life, babies cannot control their heads because of weak neck muscles. The sling's fabric can press against an infant's nose and mouth, blocking the baby's breathing and rapidly suffocating a baby within a minute or two. Additionally, when a sling keeps an infant in a curled position (see image) bending the chin toward the chest, the airways can be restricted, limiting the oxygen supply. The baby will not be able to cry for help and can slowly suffocate. The CPSC recommends that parents and caregivers make sure the infant's face is not covered and is visible at all times to the sling's wearer.
The CPSC is interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are directly related to infant slings. Parents can make such reports on its
Web site or by calling (800) 638-2772.
Our take: The CPSC gives some very sound advice for addressing suffocation risks. We think they should develop additional advice to help reduce the risk of babies falling out of slings—another hazard scenario not addressed in the CPSC warning notice.
Consumers Reports advises against using slings until effective safety standards are in place that can help mitigate the risks to infants. We are actively working with ASTM-International to help develop those safety standards. In the meantime, we think there are safer ways to carry your infant such as with soft front-carriers that keep the infant upright and visible yet still allow parents to "wear" their baby.
